Back when I first got into craft beer, Full Sail was one of the go to beers. Available everywhere, the Full Sail Amber was always a solid choice. As time passes, you forget your old stand-bys. So when I tried the LTD a few weeks ago, I felt it was about time I went through the Full Sail lineup again, to refresh my memory.
I decided to start with the IPA. This one had a nice color on the pour, golden and bright like an IPA should. The aroma was nice and hoppy, slightly floral, leading me to think there’s a nice beer waiting for me. Unfortunately, the color and aroma aren’t indicative of the brew. This IPA was rather thin and mild. I’ve had many better IPA. While there was nothing unpleasant about the beer, it ended up being too thin to be something I would buy again.
Next I moved on to the pale ale. The aroma was of vegetables and kind of funky. I couldn’t tell where the funky came from, the hops or the malt, but it was odd. Dark golden color almost amber, it was a little darker than I expected. This brew was a little sweet and full of that vegetable flavor. Not a whole lot of of hops, some light noble hops flavor in the end, but very mild. It does get better as you drink it, but not my favorite pale ale by a long shot. In the end, the taste is a little stale, but I’m still well within date on bottle.
To finish it up, I went with the old reliable Full Sail Amber. The amber, like the pale, seemed a little dark for the style, coming close to being a brown. In aroma and flavor, almost indistinguishable from the pale. A little more of a caramel, dark sugar sweetness than the pale, but everything else was more of the same. Again, I question the age of the bottle, but the date printed says I have months until it should “expire.”
So what do I think of Full Sail having gone through their standards lineup again? I’m not very impressed. I remember the amber being a very different beer. The others in the lineup were always weaker entries, but the amber has fallen back to the pack. For $1 per bottle, I’m not exactly sure what I should have expected, but I doubt I’ll be buying more, even at the discount price. It seems as if the Full Sail I once was a fan of has gone the way of their previous packaging, which they change on a regular basis. By the way, the old packaging was better as well.
We had a selection of three Kölsch beers to sample.  The order would be Reissdorf, Alaskan Summer Ale then Drake’s Blonde.  I had wanted more beers to try, but Pyramid’s Curve Ball isn’t anything I’m too fond of and I couldn’t get my hands on a growler of Iron Springs Kölsch.  The idea behind the order was to establish an example of the German style with the Reissdorf, compare it to something familiar, the Alaskan, then finish with something new.
Redhook Late Harvest Autumn Ale Warms Up the West
Kilt Lifter pours a cloudy amber with a quickly dissipating head. The aroma is rather bready with hint of alcohol and malt sweetness. There no real hop character there, but that’s to be expected. The flavor is also bready with a bit of caramel and burnt sugar. As the glass warms, the alcohol comes out a little more and the flavors change slightly to a more chocolate like breadiness. There’s just enough hops in the finish to balance out this malt showcase and keep the beer balanced and refreshing.
Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
I’ve always wanted to try using beer in my recipe. Naturally, the Chipotle Ale from Rogue was something that intrigued me. Unfortunately, Rogues availability has decreased and this wasn’t an option. After pacing the beer aisle for some time, I settled on the Anderson Valley ESB. I chose this beer because it is a nice and malty brew with a little hop kick, but not too much to overpower the recipe.
To start, you need to boil your chicken for shredding and create a broth. We only need to feed 2 adults, so this recipe is for 2-3 servings and started with 2 chicken breasts. Any type of chicken will work, so if you have chicken thighs, go for it.
You’ll only need about half of broth and can discard rest. Set aside a couple ounces to cool. You’ll use this to make a roux with 2 tbsp flour. To the warm broth add 1 tbsp of peanut butter, chili powder, roux, shredded chicken and simmer 30 min. Feel free to add as much chili powder as you like. In my opinion, there is never too much chili powder, and a flavorful chili powder will really make the difference in this dish.
I love this dish served over rice. Usually I make beans to go with it, but this night we didn’t have the time. Warm some tortillas and pour a cool beer and you’re ready to go.